Here Comes Gina enjoyed an especially wonderful Christmas this year. Joe and I hosted every member of our immediate families (a first) for the fourth Christmas Eve in a row. We worked like elves on speed in the weeks leading up to Christmas to prepare our house, the gifts and the menu, and our diligence paid off. Our “feast of seven pastas” was a success, and Aunt Gina and Uncle Joe even started a a new tradition of giving our little nieces and nephews special matching Christmas pajamas. After attending longer-than-expected midnight mass and doing some final clean up, we eventually passed out at 4:30 a.m. just in time for Santa to wiggle down our chimney and leave some gifts. Side note: how awesome would it be if that actually happened?

Pictured here are a few snippets of my Christmas experience. I hope everyone had equally fantastic Christmases!

Above, from left to right:

• My mom (my McMahon family pollyanna) gave me a Dyson! Joe gave it a whirl the other day, and it’s life changing. Muchas gracias Mom.
• How can this gingerbread man ornament not make you smile?
• One of my favorite Christmas gifts: The Book of Awesome from CF.
• Festive napkin rings from Crate and Barrel added holiday sparkle to our Christmas Eve feast.
• It’s all about the flowers: red and white roses with fresh cranberries topped our Christmas Eve dinner table.
• One of my gifts to Joe: Wall and Piece – a book comprising the works of the notorious graffiti artist Banksy.
• Another one of my favorite ornaments on our tree: a chocolate chip cookie.
• Joe gave me the Ibiza brush!
• My mother-in-law Carol (my Colantonio family pollyanna) gave me the Clarisonic Mia! I haven’t used it yet but am very excited to look at least 10 years younger.
• My mom’s much loved butter cookies which are a highly anticipated annual treat in the McMahon family. Despite a scary malfunction with my mom’s cookie press, she was able to churn out enough for me to scarf down an entire (albeit relatively small) tin the day after Christmas. Also pictured: my beloved holiday Hershey’s kisses.

Dear Santa,

Above is a collage depicting the items on HCG’s personal Christmas wishlist. These items are listed below in no particular order of desirability, so feel free to choose whatever you like.

FYI – I am publishing this to my readers so they may use my personal wishlist as gift suggestions for their friends and family. Since the HCG community and I have a lot in common, I’m willing to bet my wishlist helps them shop. If I happen to receive some of these gifts from my husband/friends/family as a result of this post, well, that’s just an added bonus.

Waiting anxiously for baby Jesus to arrive,
Gina

1. A backpack vacuum or a Dyson so I don’t kill myself vacuuming the steps in our three-story house. Lame? Probably. Practical? Definitely. Besides, who wants to buy a vacuum for herself?
2. Proenza Schouler PS1 in midnight blue. Significantly cooler than the vacuum.
3. A terrarium for my office (preferably from Terrain because things there are expensive and smell nice). It turns out I’m not that good at watering plants.
4. This J.Crew bracelet which C and I gifted to A for her 30th birthday in July. I still curse myself for not buying two.
5. Hanky Panky low-rise thongs. A girl can never have too many. Great stocking stuffer.
6. Anything cashmere (preferably moderately expensive cashmere). My wardrobe definitely needs more cashmere.
7. A DVF wrap dress. How is it possible that I still don’t own one?
8. Anything by The Row (PLEASE).
9. More free time to work on HCG. This may require an annual stipend in the amount of my current yearly salary. Make magic happen, Santa.
10. This Ibiza round brush.
11. A Yogitoes yoga towel.
12. Voluspa candles. I love them. I also love the Yankee Candle “Christmas Wreath” and “White Christmas” scents (they make any space smell like a Christmas dream), but I just bought two huge jars so I’m good for a while.
13. Elegant and impressive Here Comes Gina personalized notecards to send thank yous for all of the free gifts I receive (CF came up big in 2009 with HCG’s beloved business cards). Feel free to throw in a personalized HCG return address stamp if you have time. Letterpress notecards are suggested.
14. Laser hair removal for my entire body. You’ve been ignoring this request since Christmas 1994.
15. Hunter fleece welly socks.
16. A glass straw dispenser. I am really into straws lately and wish I had somewhere nice to store them.
17. The Clarisonic Mia skin cleansing system. I’ve heard way too many good things about it to put off trying it myself any longer.
18. A gift certificate to Soul Cycle (the most amazing spinning studio on Earth). Yes, I know I live in Philadelphia, but SC is worth a day trip to the Big Apple. Did I mention I celebrated my 29th birthday workout there this year?

Congratulations to the winner of the Lucky FABB swag bag giveaway: NORAH MAXWELL!

Here’s how the incredibly sophisticated selection process worked: I manually typed the names of all those who left comments into the list randomizer on random.org. I excluded (1) comments by my sister’s dog Rusty Ferry, (2) any multiple comments (Jenn, Rusty Ferry) and (3) any comments by me. Then I hit “randomize” and Norah Maxwell’s name came up as #1! I grabbed a screenshot of the final list so Meg, Mary, Betty, Ski and A Lud could see just how close they were to winning. CF – you were actually #62 out of #63, so no re-do was necessary. Phew!

It’s only fitting that a member of the Maxwell/McGann would win HCG’s first giveaway since they’ve been on Team HCG since day 1. Hopefully Norah will share some of the FABB swag bag contents with everyone else in her family (HCG suggests a birthday gift to Cassidy).

This giveaway was so thrilling, I may just start buying stuff to give away on HCG. I’m sure Joe will love that.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

HCG is thrilled to announce our first official giveaway!

You may recall that I attended Lucky magazine’s FABB conference in September and promised to write about the tons of goodies that were included in the swag bag. Well, I’m doing you one better: I’m giving away the entire thing (except for the paddle brush pictured in the background of the photo above. The handle of my brush recently broke during an aggressive blowout, and I had to grab this one to finish).

Christmas is right around the corner, so winning this swag bag – which is actually a LeSportsac weekend bag that is literally bursting with products, discounts and gift certificates – would do wonders for checking people off your list. Oh the stockings you can stuff with all these goodies!

From our favorite spin pins to Smashbox eye shadow to Butter nail polish to Marshalls gift certificates (two $25 GCs!), there is truly something for everyone. Let Here Comes Gina make your holiday shopping a bit easier.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Comment below. That’s it!
2. One entry/comment per person (no, CF, you may not use multiple e-mail addresses).
   
3. Giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. The winner will be selected at random (for real – this means you CF) and will be announced on HCG on Wednesday, December 14, 2011. The winner will be contacted via e-mail to confirm delivery details, so be sure to provide a legit e-mail address when you comment.
4. Giveaway is valid for U.S. residents only. My dad isn’t cool with shipping stuff for me internationally.
5. HCG makes no representations or warranties regarding the contents of this swag bag. No purchase necessary; void where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Must be 16 or older to participate.
6. Good luck!

Watch out Philadelphia Premium Outlets: for the 5th Black Friday in a row, Team HCG is coming to town to let your stores gobble up our money. LET’S DO THIS SHIT.

Four years of bundling up and hunting down outlet deals into the wee hours of the morning have taught us valuable lessons, and this year Team HCG has created a formal game plan to increase our efficiency and our hours of sleep. As much as we love shopping, we really love sleeping. As you can tell from our Thursday night time frame captured above, we’re hoping to be back home snuggling before most people have parked their cars and made it into the stores. Behold, the 2011 HCG plan of attack!

HCG’s 2011 Black Friday Gameplan

8:00 p.m.: Depart Delco
We’ll dine twice on T-giving, but our second dinner at my parents’ house will end close to our departure time, so we’re taking off from Delaware County, PA. Unlike earlier years, this year’s departure time won’t leave much room to nap or digest. Hopefully we don’t cramp up while running from our car (something we actually did the first year).

9:00 p.m.: Arrive at J. Crew
J. Crew is opening a full TWO HOURS earlier than last year, and we intend to be there when the doors are unlocked. We seriously debated not telling people about this early opening time, but we love the HCG community too much to hide such great details from you. The entire store will be between 40% and 60% off. We’re kind of hoping this is the first year we keep our J. Crew total under $500, but actually, we don’t really care. We love new stuff.

10:00 p.m.: Arrive at Theory
In huge outlet news, THEORY has opened at PPO! HCG had considerable success when we visited the Theory outlet at Woodbury Common for WCYK09, and we are hoping to make some serious scores tomorrow night. The entire store is 25% off and there are special gifts with purchase for the first 100 people.

After Theory: Banana Republic
As you know, HCG has gotten some terrific finds at Banana Republic on Black Friday. The store opens at 10:00 p.m. and it used to be our first stop at the outlets. Hopefully we’ll have bagged J. Crew and Theory by this time, and we can snag a few great work pieces. The entire store is 50% off and HCG received an e-mail coupon for an additional 15% off a purchase of $100 or more. I’m sure I can make that happen.

11:00 p.m.: Restoration Hardware
Unless RH is lying just like it did last year, the store should open at 11:00 p.m. As long as normal colors are stocked, I am definitely picking up another plush throw. I wish I kept one of those blankets under my desk at work, and this could be my chance to significantly improve my late nights in the office (I already keep these slippers under my desk). Plus, there has to be someone to whom I haven’t already given this blanket (hopefully).

7:00 – 9:30 a.m. Friday morning: Zara and H&M (and maybe Gap)
Given the crazy deals offered at two of my favorite stores, Zara and H&M, I’ll make a point to stop at both in the morning before my 9:45 a.m. Lithe Method class. If I’m feeling crazy I might make a stop at Gap after class and see what I can steal there.

Happy T-giving to the entire HCG community! I am thankful for you.

Athleta has arrived in Philadelphia! HCG stopped by the active wear brand’s opening party last night, and the placed was packed. Champagne was flowing, cash registers were ringing and yoga pants were flying off racks. As a fitness fanatic and recent fan of Athleta, I couldn’t be more excited about this welcome addition to Walnut Street. I picked up a few Athleta pieces while in New York in September, and they immediately became part of my workout wardrobe rotation.

Athleta has created a very cool atmosphere in its stores. Outfitted in rustic wood, thoughtful fixtures and semi-industrial lighting, these shops have a unique and warm feel. Check out the incredibly cool register counter:Athleta doesn’t have an ordinary dressing room, it has a Fit Studio (fancy). Much like the lovely woman lounging in purple in the photo below, Joe Colantonio enjoyed the comfortable seating in the Fit Studio when HCG visited the Upper East Side Athleta recently. So Philly husbands take note: you’ll have somewhere to sit while your woman shops!The Fit Studio also houses an impressive inventory of intimates and loungewear – the lady who works out hard should also relax hard (and wear well fitting undergarments).As expected, this new Athleta store has a vast selection of yoga and running pants, and plenty of sales associates were on hand last night to help find sizes and styles.Fans of puffy vests, rejoice! Athleta has many from which to choose.A few more photos of the scene last night:In addition to being generally awesome, the Athleta opening was also HCG’s second experience on a step and repeat (the first being Lucky FABB). Posing with other people is definitely easier than posing alone.From left: Philadelphia magazine Lifestyle Editor Emily Goulet, Athleta PR and Communications Manager Callie Canfield, Philadelphia magazine Health and Fitness Editor Emily Leaman, HCG and Athleta VP of Marketing Tess Roering.

Like the Philly HCG community, HCG readers in DC are in luck – Athleta opened in Georgetown today. Check it out!

HCG is deep in preparations for our annual Halloween bash tomorrow night! This year’s invitation promised “someone will die”, so we expect the evening will be very scary. The Colantonio Costume Cup is polished and perched on the mantle, and I’m sure Team HCG won’t be up until 4:00 a.m. tonight getting ready.

Enjoy a few elusive images of some of the party prep. The scary bird is my personal favorite.

I’ll be honest: the best surprise from Lucky FABB was the free stuff. I had no idea there would brand suites at FABB, and I most definitely had no idea that I would be given anything except the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. With that background, it should be easy to appreciate my shock and glee when I overheard other bloggers talking about the FREE J BRAND JEANS being given away in the J Brand suite. Guess who hauled ass to the J Brand suite as soon as she heard that tidbit? This girl:Oh yes, that’s yours truly doing the slightly open mouth pose (which I learned from Blake Lively via MR) and holding up a pair of jeans frozen in a look of disbelief. Here’s how it went down: I scurried over to the J Brand suite and said to a staffer, “I heard this crazy rumor about J Brand giving away free pairs of jeans. Is that actually true?” Answer: yes, totally true. WTF?! The staffer explained that each blogger was being given one pair of any of the jeans shown on the mannequins in the suite. Samples were available to try on, and orders were placed on iPads (isn’t everything trendy done via iPad these days?). I have long wanted to pick up a pair of J Brand jeans but haven’t had the time to search or the intense need for an expensive pair of new jeans. FABB did me a solid and gave me (1) time to contemplate and try on J Brand jeans (the J Brand suite had a makeshift dressing room) and (2) expensive jeans at no cost. A glimpse at the selection I had to choose from:I went with the dark wash, standard skinnies pictured below (J Brand style 811 in Dark Worn; retail cost: $187). A denim risk taker HCG is not.These babies just arrived on Monday, and they’re incredible – soft but not too thin with just enough stretch. And the waist is the perfect rise. No coin slot in sight! I can’t wait to give them a serious run for their money this fall tucked into every pair of boots I own. Muchas, muchas gracias J Brand!

That crazy mo fo Essie gave away a pouch filled with three of Essie’s newest shades pictured below (photo by Joco. Look how fancy and professional HCG is getting!). Don’t worry, Essie, I double checked to make sure these polishes are available to the public before posting about them. I would never burn you like that.From left above: Lady Like, Glamour Purse and Carry On. In an amazing coincidence, MR texted me shortly after FABB and said she was wearing a new Essie color on her nails: LADY LIKE. MR had no idea that I, too, was wearing Lady Like on my nails, and that the color was part of the Essie FABB suite giveaway. Life can be so damn crazy sometimes.

Laundry by Shelli Segal’s suite showcased the brand’s upcoming holiday collection and gave bloggers the chance to name one of their favorite dresses and have that dress sent to you (really? More free stuff? I was skeptical but hopeful at this point).  I chose a one-shouldered purple floor-length dress and did what every woman does when she doesn’t have time or, in this case, the ability to try a dress on: I slipped the hanger over my head.
I quickly realized no one else was taking photos with hangers around their necks and requested a second more traditional photo. My M.O. from FABB was “the girl who requires two photos” (exhibit A: DVF).
After all that free stuff, I was sure there was nothing else Lucky could throw at me, but I was wrong. The post-FABB cocktail party included a surprise performance by Ellie Goulding, the British singer who performed Elton John’s “Your Song” at the royal wedding private reception. Yes, and now she has also performed for HCG (okay, and a room full of 250+ other people, but look how close I was!).
Girlfriend is skinny in person. And she has the coolest voice.

What could be better than free jeans, free nail polish, a free dress and Ellie Goulding? Oh, maybe the free Sorel boots that are being shipped to HCG as you read this post. I need not repeat how awesome FABB was.

Still to come sometime before Christmas: the FABB swag bag! I know, I know, I need to post it already. I swear if I didn’t have an intense full-time job, a dedicated passion for working out and (recently) the Junior League, an awesome husband, family and friends, this site would be updated far more often. If someone wants to confront me about the infrequent HCG posting schedule on the new CW show H8TR, I’m happy to seek out the production details and/or tweet to host Mario Lopez about getting us on.

OMG KARDASHIANS. I tried to squeeze the Kardashians into the FABB panelists post, but, as the E! network would say, they deserved a post of “Kardashian proportion”. Plus, the panels post simply got too long for anyone’s attention span (mine included).

FABB was blanketed in Kardashian anticipation all morning, and talk of the famous sisters arriving in black SUVs with an E! camera crew in tow made for a giddy lunch. The conference room was generally full during most of the panels, but right before the Kardashians entered, there wasn’t an empty seat in sight. People were lining the walls. When they walked in, flashbulbs were going off like crazy.Lucky EIC Brandon Holley moderated the discussion and took pre-screened questions from the crowd, most of which involved asking the ladies how they avoid becoming overexposed (I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed) and what some of their favorite makeup products are.

Their makeup (especially Kim’s) was most impressive to me. Look at how her cheek color GLOWS! Seriously, how does she do it? I’m sure having striking natural cheekbones  and beautifully exotic features plays a big part in that equation.

Kim acknowledged that they like to wear a lot of makeup, and skin care for makeup lovers is especially important (I’m paraphrasing, of course).  Kim HATES washing her makeup off at night (she’s just like HCG!) and lives by the uber-convenient makeup cleansing cloths. I sometimes use those cloths if I’m feeling super lazy, but I still have to splash my face with water and moisturize after. So do the cloths really save that much time? If Kim wasn’t surrounded by camera crews and bodyguards after the panel, I would’ve discussed this topic with her.Brandon Holley announced that the Kardashian trio is covering three individual covers for the November issue of Lucky and gave us a preview. Here’s your sneak peek:

Man does Khloe have some seriously long extensions. I’ve gotten lots of questions about seeing the Kardashians in person, so here’s a quick shot at answering some of your burning inquiries:

• No, Khloe did not look huge in person, but it was hard to tell since, as always, she was next to Kim and Kourtney and they’re tiny.
• Yes, Khloe was the funniest/most normal.
• Yes, Khloe’s and Kim’s engagement rings are so big they look fake.
• Yes, Kim is beyond gorgeous. Her features are so striking they are almost hard to comprehend. When Kim wasn’t speaking, she was just staring back at the crowd with a freaky half smile (a good idea given that her photo was constantly being taken).
• No, I couldn’t confirm that Kim is the curviest woman in the world. As you can see, she was wearing a somewhat full skirt and blazer, so her notorious figure was difficult to discern.

Below, the E! camera crew follows them out (you can see a glimpse of Kourtney’s Lucky cover in the background):Check out more FABB photos coming to the HCG Facebook page next week!

*Disclaimer: The title of this post may infer that I actually met or exchanged words with the Kardashians. Nothing of that sort happened. Due mostly to their security, I was unable to get within 10 feet of them.

HCG has finally recovered from the whole Missoni x Target debacle which played a bigger role in our life last week than we expected. We’ve inventoried and critiqued the $900+ in merchandise we purchased and have decided what is staying and what is going back (photos and details to come soon on HCG). But until then we’ve got a few FABB posts to share, so let’s not waste anymore time.

When I first reviewed the packed FABB agenda, I was floored by the lineup. I knew this conference was going to be the coolest professional event I’d ever attended, but I had no clue how much I would learn from all the panelists. I said it to many Lucky staffers (including EIC Brandon Holley) and it’s worth repeating: Lucky knows how to do a blog conference. Moderated by Lucky editors, the panels were a huge joy for me. I’ve always been a school nerd, and FABB covered all my favorite subjects.

Panel 1: “Building your Brand in 2011” featured some serious star power. Below, from left: designer Rebecca Minkoff, designer Rachel Roy, model Coco Rocha, creator and founder of Essie nail polish Essie Weingarten, One Management President Scott Lipps and Lucky Fashion News & Features Director Jen Ford.The highlight of the first panel was the gentle skirmish between Rachel Roy and Essie. According to Essie, bloggers at a recent cosmetics trade show in Las Vegas broke beauty industry etiquette by posting about products they saw at the event to the frustration of retailers who can’t get their hands on the not-yet-released polishes. In a tone that seemed to lecture the hundreds of blogger attendees, Essie said “Girls, you need to understand that you can’t just go showing everyone products that aren’t going to be available to the public for a while. That’s not how our industry works. Now we have people calling us wanting a product that isn’t even on the shelves yet.” I looked around the room, and everyone was like “WTF is this lady talking about? What happened in Las Vegas?” Rachel, it seemed, sensed the confusion of the bloggers, and asked, “Well if you didn’t want people to blog about the products, why were you showing them at all?” You read my mind, RR. Apparently the beauty industry differs from the fashion industry where bloggers building excitement over future products is generally encouraged, and Essie thought FABB was the perfect place to clarify that distinction. It definitely got the room buzzing.

RR was quite possibly one of the most gracious, genuine people I’ve ever met in such a brief encounter. During the panel, Rachel spoke highly of accessible fashion and dismissed the concern of stores like H&M and Zara copying designers. In her words, “Thank God for H&M, thank God for Zara – what are regular people who don’t have access to high fashion supposed to do?” AMEN, Rachel, Amen! Let’s get a photo together to celebrate:HCG is also a huge fan of model Coco Rocha. As a way to show people that models actually have opinions and causes about which they care, Coco was the first model to start her own blog Oh So Coco which has since blown up. After the panel I couldn’t help but tell Coco (along with her adorable husband James Conran who was at her side at FABB) how much I loved her wedding video which is really like an Oscar-nominated film – both the short teaser and the full-length version. The videos, like Coco’s Zac Posen wedding dress, are stunning. Notice how I intentionally tried to make myself look skinner in the photo below by pulling some hand on hip action which was a worthless endeavor. Coco needs no such smoke and mirrors in her studded Alice + Olivia jacket.Below, the awesome Meg Miller – one of my favorite people of the day – interviewing Coco for New York magazine.Panel 2: “Brands and Bloggers Working Together“ From left: Lucky Executive Digital Director (and former Fashionista editor) Lauren Sherman, NYU professor and L2 founder Scott Galloway, White House Black Market President Donna Noce Colaco, Club Monaco VP of Marketing & Communications Ann Watson  and The Glamourai founder Kelly Framel (who has impeccable style and a beautiful blog):
So many bloggers wonder how to monetize their content (except HCG – we have more money than we can spend), and this panel offered solid pointers for working with brands: write about what you genuinely love and approach those brands, don’t be afraid to be ridiculously aggressive, have great ideas for partnerships and convince a brand how you can add value. I’ve got the HCG business people working on these items now.

Panel 3: “Setting the Trends“ From left below, Street Pepper founder Phil Oh, The Man Repeller founder Leandra Medine, Morpheus Media Chief Media Officer Shenan Reed, Bare Escentuals Executive Chairman Leslie Blodgett, High Line Venture Partners Managing Partner Shana Fisher and Lucky Beauty Director Jean Godfrey-June (who I have long adored through the pages of Lucky).
My favorite tidbit from this panel: don’t look to other fashion or beauty blogs to model yourself after; be original. Don’t look sideways, look forward. Just as most women compare themselves to other women, I’ve compared HCG to other blogs and wondered if I should be doing things differently – perhaps write about Dairy Queen less? Calm down on the whole poodle obsession? Use more profanity? (A personal dilemma I constantly struggle with is my refusal to outright use the F word on HCG. I wish I did. It’s just so satisfying). If I gained nothing else from FABB, I gained confidence in the HCG content and the fabulous readers who make hitting “publish” on each post a thrilling experience.

Panel 4: “Building a Business“ featured RODGE! From left below: co-founder of Thrillist (if you don’t know Thrillist, it’s like a cooler Daily Candy for guys) Adam Rich, The Coveteur (oh how I love the design and concept of this site) co-founders Stephanie Mark and Erin Kleinberg, Express CEO Lisa Gavales and the ultimate man behind the woman, husband of Rachel Zoe and president of Rachel Zoe Inc. Rodger Berman.
Unlike his bitchy antics on last night’s episode of RZP (Vegas for the Super Bowl? Really, Rodge?), Rodge was very cool at FABB. When Express CEO Lisa Gavales mentioned her company used Thrillist to find a cool restaurant in Philly, Rodge snickered “Yeah, as if there are any cool restaurants in Philly.” If you were watching the live feed like Joe, you heard “WHOA, RODGE!” from the brunette wearing the orange dress in the third row. We settled the matter after the panel, though, when Rodge explained that his business partner and friend are both from Philly and he knew the remark would get them fired up. Little did he expect it would get one Philly blogger attendee fired up, too.

Panel 4: “What Platforms are Right for You?” was all about Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and other online media platforms. From left below, Birchbox co-founder Katia Beauchamp, Klout Marketing Manager Megan Berry, Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann, Textbook founder and Lucky Style Collective Editor John Jannuzzi and Director of Digital Media at Starworks Group Jessica Coghan-Kia:
I especially enjoyed this panel because of how much fun I’ve had with the HCG Facebook page and my personal Twitter account. Both are such great ways to connect with the HCG community and I couldn’t be more obsessed with either one. Are they hard to keep up with sometimes? Probably, but that’s only because I can’t figure out how to get the HCG FB notifications on my Blackberry. I’ll get the HCG tech department on that request now.

More FABB to come!